I am recreating the over 200 items owned by the Englishwoman Mrs. Ann Bamford when she died, sometime around 1780. The inventory includes several cloaks, including one of green satin. It also includes a bonnet made from black velvet. It’s definitely too cold to go without outerwear in Norway at the moment, so why not make some, Mrs. Bamford style?
The inventory of Mrs. Ann Bamford:
Materials:
Bonnet:
Black silk velvet: rainbowtekstil.no/
Black silk organza: rainbowtekstil.no/
Cloak:
Green cotton satin: renaissancefabrics.net
Time:
Bonnet: 15h 30m
Cloak: 52h
Cost:
Bonnet: NOK830
Cloak: NOK590
Filming: My amazing and patient boyfriend!
G-burg Jan.3, 2025
Hi, Thank you for letting me learn things. I’m a sucker for a nice hat so I can’t leave this alone. I love it. I get the black velvet thing now when I’ve seen the black hole they make in space, but for a nice winter hat why not? Nobody else is going to have one, well except you. Are there historical “evidence” of them using pasteboard for stiff brims. I’m more informed on more current hats than this one, but I would have thought about buckram. Without doing any research myself, I’ve understood that linen buckram existed, and I assume some cotton would have been available too. I don’t know if this would have made life any easier, except if a more pliable stiffening layer would have been helpful when sewing, so this is just me being nosey, aka interested for the fun of learning. I’m really grateful for you reminding me that a curved needle can be very helpful when working with stiff material and thick fabrics. Thank you.
Seeing you sew the hood of the cape was a revelation. It explains so much about how a cape hood would hang gracefully. I tried to make hooded things when I was younger and they wouldn’t hang right. Yours is so lovely, and the rosette in your inspiration picture was also absolutely beautiful. Thank you for showing how it was done.
What a beautiful cotton sateen/satin whichever is the right word for it. I don’t think I’ve seen that much luster in cotton before. Burnley and Trowbridge?
Would you say that this cloak would be more of a mosquito repellant than actual outerwear in our climate, me living in the country next door to you? For winter use would it do much? I’m trying to figure out what to do now that my one nice coat is way past sell-by-date and needs to be retired. Unfortunately the kind of coats that I like are not in fashion at the moment, so I’m casting about for an interim piece of outerwear. A warm cloak or cape would work in my life, so I’m trying to figure them out. I would most likely have to outsource the work to a seamstress, but it would help if I know what I want.
If you see this Gott Nytt År 2025. I hope all your dreams and hopes for the year will be fulfilled. And to anyone still reading this, Happy New Year 2025. I hope it it’ll be a good one for the world and all of us living on it. Yours, Ann
There are a few things that are universally aknowledged: When hand sewing on camera something will always go wrong. And: when wearing something swishy one has to spin around and around in the snow. Both of those are stated by law, I think.
Also, I snorted at your pun, so it is Anne approved. (wich is something one of our friends has started to say, btw)
It looks really beautyful! And I actually do enjoy hemming, of course it depends a little on what kind of stitch I use.